Sources have revealed that China Netcom (NYSE: CN; 0906.HK) and China Unicom (NYSE: CHU; 0762.HK; 600050.SH) headquarters have issued orders their respective southern branches, who have in turn established joint working groups on WCDMA, and WCDMA business services, backend support, and products.

A joint WCDMA working group has already begun rolling out a trial WCDMA network in the cities of Foshan and Shenzhen, Guangdong province. The backend support group has already begun integrating the Netcom and Unicom systems and adding a business operations support system (BOSS) to China Unicom's backend system. After the conclusion of the Olympic Games, all southern branches will complete requirements analysis and assemble in Beijing for a conference. The company expects to settle on the specifics of a new BOSS system by the end of October, and begin trials by the end of this year in both Zhejiang and Chongqing.

Editor's Note: Unicom plans to spend RMB 100 mln on its 3G expansion.

Source:21st Century Business Herald